England lose to Italy as both sides crash out of U21s

England and Italy were knocked out of the U-21 European Championships as Italy demolished England 3-1.

England started brightly, and had chances to take the lead. Harry Kane set Danny Ings free of the defence, but the striker sent his shot just wide of the near post, and then Kane's own shot towards the top corner was palmed away by Francesco Bardi.

Minutes later, Italy took the lead when Andrea Belotti hooked a clever Domenico Berardi scooped pass into the box past Jack Butland, and within two minutes Marco Benassi made it two, his shot from just inside the box deflected off Ben Gibson.

In the second half, England struggled to create any clear chances, with Jesse Lingard sidefooting wide from outside the box.

Benassi sealed the victory with his second when he was able to head past Butland under no pressure, as England failed to react to a quick throw in. Nathan Redmond grabbed a late consolation goal, but by then both sides were out of the competition.

13' - INGS MISS - Terrible miss from Ings. He's slipped in down the inside left by Kane, and with space, tries to curl the ball around Bardi and inside the near post, but it's a yard wide.

23' - BARDI SAVE - Redmond loses the ball high up the pitch, England come back again, down the left wing with Kane. He steps onto his right foot, and curls a shot towards the top corner that Bardi palms away.

25' - GOAL! England 0-1 Italy. Belotti scores - Italy win a free kick on the right, taken short and then scooped into the box by Berardi for Belotti to hook past Butland.

27' - GOAL! England 0-2 Italy. Benassi scores - the ball is laid off to Benassi in the box, given plenty of room, and a slight deflection off Gibson takes it past Butland.

40' - REDMOND SHOT - Biraghi skies an opportunity when the ball comes to him on the edge of the box. At the other end, Redmond jinks past a couple of defenders, into the box, but he sends his shot straight at Bardi.

42' - KANE SHOT - Kane has a shot from distance, and Bardi scrambles across to his left to pull off a smart save and keep Italy's advantage.

47' - LINGARD SHOT - Garbutt plays in Lingard on the left, he jinks past a defender, and from a tight angle, slices a shot just wide of the far top corner.

65' - LINGARD SHOT - Redmond slides the ball inside for Lingard, who makes room with clever feet, and he sidefoots a shot just wide of the post.

72'' - GOAL! England 0-3 Italy. Benassi scores - A quick throw in is hooked to the back post for Benassi, unmarked, and he has an easy header past Butland.

90+3' - GOAL! England 1-3 Italy. Redmond scores - Lingard tees him up on the edge of the box via a Loftus-Cheek backheel, and he fires past Bardi.

England finished bottom of their group.

The starting Italy side had 264 appearances between them.

In contrast, the England side that started had just 126 Premier League games.

England have not beaten Italy in eight years at U-21 level.

No win over Italy U21 in 8 years

How can England succeed at Under-21 level? The side missed players like Jack Wilshere and Raheem Sterling, who have been promoted early to the senior side. As good as they are, the England senior side does not need them to qualify from an easy European Championship qualifying stage and they could be part of a successful Under-21 side instead. Injuries have not helped Gareth Southgate, but this approach hampers England from the start.

Domenico Berardi (Italy): Berardi was key to Italy breaking down a disorganised and unsophisticated England side, and comparing him to Harry Kane is instructive. England's best forward had a poor game, shooting whenever possible but rarely thinking.

England: Butland 6, Jenkinson 5, Gibson 5, Stones 5, Garbutt 6, Chalobah 5, Forster-Caskey 5, Redmond 6, Ings 5, Lingard 6, Kane 5. Subs: Loftus-Cheek 6.

Italy: Bardi 7, Zappacosta 6, Rugani 6, Romagnoli 6, Biraghi 6, Benassi 7, Crisetig 6, Cataldi 6, Berardi 7, Trotta 5, Belotti 6. Subs: Sabelli 6, Verdi 6, Viviani 6.